Disclosure document filed on this invention in Jul. 2001, Document #496865.
N/A
N/A
The field of endeavor to which this invention pertains is anti-theft, tamper resistant locking devices.
Upon hearing of the theft of a 5th wheel camping trailer, I, being the owner of a 5th wheel camping trailer, recognized the need for a locking device/anti-theft device for 5th wheel hitch pins.
After exploring the market for available locking products, I became aware that, to the best of my knowledge, the only products that existed had exposed locks and hinges that could easily be compromised with a hack saw, hammer, or bolt cutters. My idea for an anti-theft device was a recessed pocket containing the padlock and channels for the lock shank integrated into a solid block of steel or aluminum, which would allow the padlock to be inside the block of steel. This invention would prevent access to the lock shank, preventing cutting of the shank. This invention would also limit access to the padlock body, preventing the lock being compromised by blunt force being applied to the body.
The second part of my idea involved a hinge system for the invention that would make the hinge pin inaccessible.
I shared my idea with my husband, Delmar Nilges, who then shared it with David Blatt for help in developing and testing the idea in October of 2000.
After much research, trial and error, and prototypes, the invention described in this application was developed. To the best of my knowledge, I believe this invention to be unique and it contains systems and mechanical process that do not exist in today""s market.
The result of our experimentation and development is a combination between the hinge design and locking design that prevents the device from being compromised even if the hinge is totally destroyed.
This invention is an anti-theft locking device for any 5th wheel type trailer. On the market now are locking devices for 5th wheel trailers that have exposed hinges and exposed padlocks. The devices now available are easily compromised by cutting the padlock shank or the hinge. This invention solves this problem by channeling and pocketing the padlock into a solid block of aluminum and machining the hinge directly into the solid block with the hinge pin concealed in the block. The combination of the padlock channels and pocket along with the hinge design make it virtually impossible to remove the device from the 5th wheel pin.
The device is closed around the pin of the 5th wheel hitch on the trailer. The padlock is then inserted into the channels in the block halves and raised, then inserted into the padlock pocket. See drawings page 1, FIG. 1 for diagram of locking sequence.
Test have shown, that with the device installed with the hinge pin removed, the device, still, can not be removed because of the design of the padlock channels and pocket.